January 1 in LGBTQ History

1962: Illinois repeals its sodomy laws, becoming the first U.S. state to decriminalize homosexuality.

1965: San Francisco police arrest gay and lesbian party-goers at a fund-raising ball for the Council on Religion and the Homosexual, held at California Hall.

1967: In the first hour of the new year, a raid occurs at the Black Cat Tavern on Sunset Blvd in Silverlake. Several hundred people spontaneously demonstrate and picket outside the Black Cat, fueling the formation of gay rights groups in California.

2005: California law AB 205, which extends many rights and responsibilities of marriage to registered domestic partners, goes into effect.